Sweet Baby James (1970)

Sweet Baby James was Taylor’s first album for Warners after a short stay at Apple, the Beatles’ label.

The album’s charm lies in the choice of instruments used, acoustic guitar, piano, steel guitar, fiddle and a few brass arrangements. At times reminiscent of The Band, The Byrds and Dylan in his country phase, Sweet Baby James is widely regarded as the folk-rock classic that made James Taylor a household name.

The standout track is Fire And Rain, inspired by his stay in a psychiatric institution in the mid-1960s and the suicide of a fellow patient, although the album boasts many other gems. A benchmark album for lovers of folk-pop healing music.